NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • Golf
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • One Roof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tairāwhiti / East Coast
    • All Tairāwhiti / East Coast
    • Gisborne
    • Wairoa
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts & audio
    • All Podcasts & audio
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • Gisborne Herald
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

Sign InSubscribe
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Travel

Bubbling wonders of Waimangu

2 Dec, 2003 02:46 AM4 mins to read

Save

    Share this article

By PATRICK SMITH

Mt Tarawera casts a spell over Lake Rotomahana on this still, overcast day.

We're floating above the spot where the legendary Pink Terrace stood before the sacred mountain erupted.

Aboard the sturdy little Waimangu Voyager is a well-thumbed album of photographs taken before and after the eruption 118 years ago. Here's one of tourists at the glittering White Terrace, which covered almost 3ha and dropped 30m to the shore.

By lining up on still-recognisable landmarks around the lake we can see exactly where both the Pink and White Terraces - once considered the eighth wonder of the world - would have been.

And it's not hard to imagine soaking in one of the basins of hot, silica-rich water that rewarded Victorian travellers after an intrepid journey inland from Tauranga.

Lake Rotomahana is today 40m deeper and many times larger than it was before the events of June 10, 1886, engulfed it and another small lake, Rotomakariki, destroyed the terraces and several Maori villages and killed at least 108 people.

The Waimangu volcanic valley behind us, and Rotomahana, 20 minutes' drive south of Rotorua, give a fascinating insight into the forces that continue to shape this amazing geothermal region.

This scenic reserve is the only large hydrothermal system in the world wholly formed in recent times as the direct result of volcanic eruption. But even if you're not into geology or history, the Waimangu Valley-Lake Rotomahana experience is brilliant.

The valley leg offers a journey through beautiful native bush, with steaming lakes and streams, bubbling hot springs, towering cliffs pitted with smoking fumaroles, vividly coloured silica terraces and breathtaking views.

You don't even have to walk if you don't want to. A shuttle bus runs back and forth to the lake and you can ride all the way, stopping at points of interest, or walk part-way and ride the rest.

Toby and I choose to walk, at least on the downhill leg to the lake. Our route is mapped out in the Wanderer's Guide we get with our tickets. The map is dotted with more than 30 stops along the way, each numbered feature described and explained.

As we wander from point to point we build up a picture of the events that created the valley, from the line of craters that blew during the 1886 eruption to the mighty explosion at Echo Crater in 1917 which formed Frying Pan Lake, and the brief Trinity Terrace blast in 1973.

The Waimangu Geyser, which was active from 1900 to 1904, was the biggest in the world, hurling sand, mud and rocks up to 400m into the air.

It's still a world of natural wonders _ the steaming, milky-blue Inferno Crater Lake; gaseous, bubbling Frying Pan Lake; the smoking monolith of Cathedral Rocks; multicoloured Warbrick Terrace; nature trails teeming with native birds ...

It's all put together in a package that has won its operators several eco-tourism awards.

Toby agreed the whole experience was "really cool" _ the ultimate endorsement from a 15-year-old.

You can do the walk in one or two hours, depending whether you use the bus, and the lake cruise takes about 50 minutes, so allow around three hours if you want to do both. There's a good information centre and cafe at the top of the valley.

Gettting there

The Waimangu Volcanic Valley is 14km south of Rotorua off State Highway 1.

Ph: (07) 366 6137

Email Waimangu Volcanic Valley

What it costs

Walk/bus $20 adult, $5 child, $45 family.

Lake cruise $25 adult, $5 child, $55 family.
Waimangu/Rotomahana $45 adult, $10 child, $95 family

Opening times

The valley is open daily from 8.30am. Waimangu Voyager trips depart visitor centre six times a day from 10am.

Last admissions (summer):

3pm walk/cruise

4.10pm cruise

4.45pm walk only.

Waimangu volcanic valley

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Travel

Travel

Could you take on the famed W Trek in 2025?

07 Jan 06:00 AM
Travel news

Air NZ launches sale on international and domestic fares

06 Jan 04:00 PM
Travel

Of all the cruise ships coming to NZ in 2025, pick this one

06 Jan 06:00 AM

Doubtful Sound guarantees an unforgettable Fiordland experience

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Travel

Could you take on the famed W Trek in 2025?

Could you take on the famed W Trek in 2025?

07 Jan 06:00 AM

Fjällräven Classic make wild dreams a wild reality for casual hikers.

Air NZ launches sale on international and domestic fares

Air NZ launches sale on international and domestic fares

06 Jan 04:00 PM
Of all the cruise ships coming to NZ in 2025, pick this one

Of all the cruise ships coming to NZ in 2025, pick this one

06 Jan 06:00 AM
Ready to conquer an NZ Great Walk?

Ready to conquer an NZ Great Walk?

06 Jan 12:00 AM
Hong Kong uncovered: vibrant neighbourhoods, outdoor gems, and top-tier events
sponsored

Hong Kong uncovered: vibrant neighbourhoods, outdoor gems, and top-tier events

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP